We are thankful to be home!

He doesn't know yet that dogs pee on these

The day after getting home we headed to a new park nearby. Erick loves steering wheels!



There were still a few leaves left for us to play in :)




Strolling around the neighborhood with Grandpa Glade after Thanksgiving dinner

It's GREAT to be together!!

I can't believe it's finally here. There is truly no place like home! We had such a nice welcome at the airport and it's seems like it's been a celebration ever since then. Even if it's just the three of us cuddled on the sofa reading books or watching cartoons, it's been a celebration.

Erick has jumped right in and hasn't seemed to have skipped a beat. He's met so many people at church, family at Thanksgiving, friends at work and holiday gatherings, and has given out hundreds of kisses and high-fives. We've decided he's going to be a politician.

Life at home has definitely been an adjustment for Pat and I both...still in a good way. Although I've been with Erick for the last 10 months, it's different having him in our house at my feet all day! I'm learning that it takes alot longer to accomplish any one thing around the house, much less several things. And I've started the clean-out process. I remember a few moms who fostered in Antigua returning to what seemed like a ridiculously jam-packed house. I'm feeling the same way. It's been hard to unpack suitcases of STUFF when all my closets and drawers are already packed with STUFF! So I'm going at it, hard core, these next few weeks. Our pastor always talks about the unhurried, simplified life. I want to get better at both of those.

I'll probably go back to work part-time in January. In order to take care of Erick, Pat and I have cut back on our schedule at work and will share a full-time schedule between us. It's really like him working full-time and me being home, but we'll each work part-time. On the days I work, Pat will be home with Erick, and vice versa. It's one of the fun things about sharing the same profession!

The Lord has blessed us tremendously with the experience of this whole adoption process and with little Erick. As long and hard of a journey as it has been, we wouldn't trade a second of it for having our own child. It's made our marraige even stronger and it's allowed us to share our story and struggles of infertility with other couples going through the same. We've learned so much about the joys of domestic and international adoption and will be huge proponents of adoption. Not to mention, we have one of the cutest darn little boys ever! Much cuter than the two of us could have produced :) Do I sound like a proud parent?

Several years ago I learned Psalm 37:4, "Delight yourself in the Lord and he will give you the desires of your heart." We started trying to get pregnant in 2000 and just assumed our little "desire" would come quickly. God had a different path for us, but he kept his promise. He didn't answer our request for a family at the snap of our fingers, but asked us to be patient and faithful. Isaiah 55:8,9 talks about how God's ways are so much different than our ways. "As high as the heavens are from the earth, so are My ways higher than yours," says the Lord. Time after time we have personally seen Him deliver in our lives and the lives of friends and family. He has taken us on an amazing journey. We pray that He has been and will continue to be glorified through our lives and Erick's life.

As far as I know this is my last blog entry....at least for a long while. Thank you all who have followed our journey and have been supportive of us. Thank you for all of your prayers!! WE ARE HOME AND HAPPY!!!